The firm apparently tried to blame the couple's other dog Rhea, left, for the death

Denise and Peter flew home the next day, paying £400 for earlier flights, and picked up Rhea from friends and ordered a postmortem for dead Delphi.

They say it concluded she had no bite marks or evidence she had been attacked by Rhea - but she had a broken neck.

Denise added: "They said it could have been anything like her getting caught on a handle on a cupboard, or even falling.”

Denise suggested the couple were to blame for leaving the dogs alone for so long, but David Price in return blamed Rhea and then Denise for the death.

Referencing Denise's illness, in an email she claims he sent, David said: "A pathological sociopath hides behind her supposed terminal illness whilst displaying no conscience about placing two large breed dogs in a small home, not to mention the cruelty of their 'cage' without regard to the nature of all dogs to dominate.

"Delphi, as you fully know, dominated the food.

"A domination struggle was inevitable, one which led in the end to far bigger Rhea killing Delphi."

The pooch was sprawled out on the carpet on its side, eyes just open, with blood on a mat under its body

David Price of House and Home Sitters Ltd admitted the dog died - but said it was killed by the larger pup.

He claimed the older dog had the dead pet's collar in his mouth when he found them, and defended breaking the news via WhatsApp message.

He added: "Their negative report appears to be more about money, evidenced by their claiming over £5,200 on the insurance.

"The insurance company rejected the claim, finding House and Home Sitters neither negligent nor liable, based upon the vet's post-mortem report, which confirmed the older dog killed the younger one, citing possible 'puppy exuberance'.

"This could just as easily have happened when they themselves were home, and the same scene would then have confronted them.

"I called Ms Maguire a sociopath after she called me a psychopath, since it takes a person without conscience to keep two large breed dogs in a clearly too small home, and then additionally confine them to a small cage in the kitchen, whilst only allowing them about 20 minutes per day exercise.

"H&H always strives to provide and improve our service, and this is one more lesson learnt."

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